North Carroll goes cold, 56-41

FREDERICK -- North Carroll needed more than six minutes to score its first basket last night, and it missed 10 of 11 shots in the first quarter.

Things didn't get much better after that.

Host Linganore used a tight defense to keep No. 8 North Carroll quiet on offense most of the game, and the Lancers rolled to a 56-41 victory in a Central Maryland Conference game.

North Carroll (13-3, 5-1), which had won six in a row, struggled on offense much of the night. The Panthers had problems against a Linganore defense that often pressured the ball.

North Carroll finished with 38 turnovers and never got in gear offensively. Linganore repeatedly picked the Panthers' pockets and forced them to make bad passes while scoring its second victory of the season over the Panthers.

After forcing the turnovers, Linganore often wound up with fast breaks that produced easy baskets.

Linganore (12-3, 8-0) threw North Carroll out of sync early. The Panthers made only one basket in the first quarter -- a put-back by Ashlee Douglass -- with 1:57 left.

Still, North Carroll managed to stay close for awhile.

North Carroll committed 12 turnovers in the first quarter as Linganore took an 11-4 lead after one. The game, in fact, went scoreless for nearly three minutes at the start.

The Panthers made a run in the second quarter. Trailing, 21-10, Michele Jeffery (team-high 10 points) hit a free throw, Francine Hewes added two more before Jeffery made another, and Jenny Baker sank a long jumper to cut the lead to 21-16 with 1:36 left in the half.

Betsy Roberts (14 points) then made a layup and a free throw for Linganore. Jennifer Gloyd (game-high 18 points) followed with a three-pointer for a 28-16 halftime lead.

Linganore hit seven of 13 in the second quarter and 12 of 28 for the half. North Carroll, however, made only five of 21 for the two quarters. Add that to a total of 20 turnovers, and it's easy to see why North Carroll trailed.

Turnovers hurt North Carroll again in the third quarter. The Panthers hit five of 11 from the field and cut the lead to eight at one point, but they turned the ball over 10 more times. Linganore held on to a 40-27 lead after three.